Review of Bernadette Barrymore

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Bertha Jackson
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Review of Bernadette Barrymore

Post by Bertha Jackson »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bernadette Barrymore" by Diane Coia Ramsay.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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While on vacation in London with her parents in 1912, 18-year-old Bernadette Barrymore met and fell in love with Lord Anthony (Tony) Devereux. They were married two months later, despite Arabella's dislike of the American "Irish bricklayer's" daughter who married her son. Bernadette's father, James, was displeased with the marriage because he thought Tony was impoverished royalty who only wanted the money he would get from an American multimillionaire's daughter. Two years later, Tony joins the Royal Horse Artillery division of the British army to fight Germany, and Bernadette is left alone at the Devereux House with Arabella. Arabella is mean and nasty to Bernadette, so James buys her a flat in Knightsbridge, and she gets a job at Harrods to keep her busy while James plans to have her marriage annulled. What did Arabella do to Bernadette? Why does her father want the marriage annulled? Will Bernadette and Tony find happiness? Read Bernadette Barrymore by Diane Coia-Ramsay to learn more than the answers to these questions.

The character development in this book is its most outstanding positive aspect. Diane Coia-Ramsay clearly shows the characters' different personalities: James's love for his daughter, Arabella's jealousy and hatred of her daughter-in-law, Tony's aristocratic snobbish attitude, and Bernadette's strong and willful personality, to name a few. I commend the author for using characters from the Loving Leopold trilogy she had written. Although Arabella treated Bernadette horribly, I was able to empathize with her and kept wondering what she would do next. The demographics are clearly described, from the Devereux House, which was over 400 years old, to the newer mansion in Boston. The historical aspects are easy to differentiate from the fictional ones. I appreciate how the author demonstrates how harmful the British aristocrats' prejudices against Americans and the Irish were during this era.

I found nothing to dislike about the content in this well-written and suspenseful book. Having read several of Diane Coia-Ramsay's books, she is now one of my favorite authors, and I hope to read more of her books. However, the black highlights on the cover made it hard to see the hyphen in her name. This hyphen may not be necessary for casual readers, but it is for anyone citing this book.

This fascinating book deserves nothing less than 5 out of 5 stars. With only a few minor errors, I am confident that it has been professionally edited.

Mature fans of historical-romance novels are the ones I recommend this book to. There is some non-borderline profanity that sensitive readers may find offensive. There is minimal religious content consisting of church marriages and prayers that I do not think readers will find offensive, but if it does offend you, you may want to avoid this book.

******
Bernadette Barrymore
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Post by Oluchi23 »

The book is an interesting one and I need to answer these questions here by reading to have the full story. "What did Arabella do to Bernadette? Why does her father want the marriage annulled? Will Bernadette and Tony find happiness?" Kudos.
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Post by Stacia Novikov »

You have piqued my interest with this review. I am curious if the marriage ends up annulled and if Bernadette finds out about her father's plan along the way. Nice job.
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Post by Ajibola Gabriel »

The cover of this book drew my attention; it looked like something that I will love reading. The summary of the book does look interesting but it’s not what I was hoping for. It sounds like a Cinderella story, except that this Cinderella is rich and aware.
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Alwin Machiridza
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Post by Alwin Machiridza »

This is a wonderful book and fascinating romance story right there. I love it!.
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Post by Jê hii »

Your review is quite impressive. Generally, I do not historical books but I find this quite interesting. I'll give it a try.
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Post by Jê hii »

Amazing job by the author.
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Hazel Mae Bagarinao
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Post by Hazel Mae Bagarinao »

Two months of being acquainted and getting married seem so early. Will their marriage prosper? Why does Berdanette's father want to annul the marriage? Would it be because of the possessions they have? I'm intrigued by this story. Thank your for this recommendation and your review is superb!
"Less is more." ~ Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
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Post by Rajesh Singh 2 »

Two months of being acquainted and getting married seem so early. Will their marriage prosper? Why does Berdanette's father want to annul the marriage? Would it be because of the possessions they have? I'm intrigued by this story. Thank your for this recommendation and your review is superb!
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Post by Tamara Bengesai »

This review was well written. I love historical stories, this is one book I would buy. I would love to see how the story unfolded although it seemed they didn't court for a long time before marrying. With Tony off to war doesn't help what they are going through. Will their love survive this?
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Bobby Michael 1
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Post by Bobby Michael 1 »

So far the story is going well but the ends of the story that is where to know we the face of the book, i will buy it to finish up.
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Post by Mitzie Bajo »

I love the setting of story that was in the 1900's era,because it was also the famous cruise titanic was very known. Reading the review, I could just imagine their clothes and what their set ups are. It was a great and detailed review.
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